How about the rest of us? I’ve uninstalled Apple Maps and have google maps install, if I click an address it prompts me to install Apple Maps again.
I have no idea how this is somehow different from the Microsoft IE antitrust case of the 90’s, but I truly hate decisions made by apple (and Microsoft, for that matter) in the name of ‘doing business’.
I don’t think either option is actionable. I live in Australia, with a population so negligible and ignorant of privacy that even if someone in government somehow did give a shit, even major entities like Apple might find it more economical to just pull out entirely.
And ‘just asking’ for citizenship is a little bit of a stretch, as is relocating to Europe.
> Or you can ask your government to protect its citizen from monopolies
that’s one take. i got a different one:
the ship has already sailed almost two decades ago. that’s when these kinds of solutions should have been implemented.
today euro politicians decided to micromanage US tech companies because they don’t have any themselves. they’ll use the fine money to promote truly innovative companies such as France Telecom.
meanwhile in the real world i just got an email from one of my european clients to not use anything other than safari and to not install any 3rd party app stores or apps due to security concerns.
> The key nuance that triggered the government lawsuit was anti-competitive actions such as using obscure/undocumented Windows API functions to cripple Netscape and forcing computer manufacturers to avoid other software when licensing DOS/Windows. All of that is in the long document: https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-f...
I can make the exact same argument for iOS, anything non-Apple which is still permitted is crippled and their Apple equivalent are using undocumented private APIs.
> Apple also plans to introduce a new default control for users in Settings for navigation apps. Apple aims to make this solution available by March 2025.
> Apple will also add the ability to delete Safari from the iPhone in an update to iOS before the end of the year.
Man, sincerely wish Apple would make these changes available elsewhere. My whole family complains about how they cannot make Google Maps the default on iOS.
What I don't get is why they don't just roll it out everywhere? Surely it's more hassle for them to maintain multiple versions of iOS with different features for different markets?
Wishing for Apple to do something is misplaced. Wish for and vote for a government where you live that's as concerned with your software choices as the EU and EC and European courts are for their citizens.
Why not skip this case-by-case approach and just introduce something similar to Android's intent system? As in, any app could say it can handle "geo:" URIs, and the user would get to choose which app opens them. Same for all other URI schemes and common actions. It has somehow worked on Android for 15 years and hell didn't break loose.
I think the issue is less a technical one and more that Apple doesn't want to cede control. I'm guessing the fact they're saying this will take a year to launch is more about how little they want to do it than the actual amount of effort.
But they will have to, sooner or later. It's not like the EU is going to give up with its initiatives that aim precisely to reduce this kind of post-device-sale control by device manufacturers. Why not just bite the bullet? This kind of arrogant behavior can't be good for Apple's own reputation either. You want people to use your services? Provide better services than your competition then!
Because then you couldn't funnel every basic functionality of a modern smartphone into your own apps by force, making it so annoying to actually use alternatives that in most scenarios, you won't bother to.
Off topic, recently on holiday I needed to lookup an address. Google Maps and Apple Maps had very different results. One had the location about half a mile away across the city and the other was right where I was standing.
Apple Maps was the correct one.
This is not an experience I’d have expected in 2024 for a large city in a Western country. With Googles apparent embrace of enshitification as a goal instead of a warning, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised anymore.
Apple Maps would be my preference too. UI is much better, map design much better, turn by turn is better etc. The only area it stumbles is business listings. For Google I can see lots of reviews, opening hours that are accurate even on holidays, how busy the location is, photos etc. Apple Maps doesn't even come close in this regard and sadly it's the main reason I use a mapping app. Apple should have started building this out from the start - integrating with Yelp which was a mistake (it was DOA even back then for countries outside the US).
That's one of the main values of Google Maps: it's not just a navigation app, it's a business directory. I don't need to know how to get to a set of GPS coordinates; I need to find an Italian restaurant, or a veterinarian, or whatever. Only then do I care about how I go there.
Not too long ago, I was looking for a shop which, it turned out, was at the next junction of a very short street. Like, I could've seen it but for a signpost and restaurant outdoor furniture blocking my view.
Google Maps recommended I walked to that junction, turned left, walked halfway to the next junction, got on the underground, took the underground to the next stop, got off the underground, and then walked back.
Well, not long ago I was searching for National Car Rental / Enterprise near the London Heathrow airport. As I was in a hurry, I chose the first one that looks right and start driving. And somehow I arrived in one of the terminal drop off/pick up zone and hence I need to pay £5 for that mistake. And then when I eventually got the right one, that’s another 15 min drive…
If you look up “paper cities” google also has “paper public transportation” and it will give me a route from my house starting at a bus stop that doesn’t exist on a bus that doesn’t exist. It’s super annoying when inviting people over because I have to explain that they shouldn’t use Google maps because it will give impossible directions.
It depends on where you are; Google Maps is indispensable in some cities, and apparently somewhat useless in other locales. Here in Tokyo, it's a must-have app, and basically everyone uses it because it's so useful. Good luck trying to navigate the public transit system with some other navigation app, or find some very particular restaurant you want to eat at. Of course, one of Google's big locations for Maps development is here in Tokyo, so that might have something to do with why it works so well.
My wife actually uses Google Maps a lot for restaurants and places to go when we are traveling outside our country, but not for navigation. I find that funny, since this is a Maps app after all.
As for navigations it's either Apple Maps or Waze, depending on the country.
In a lot of cities (think Asia, Europe) GMaps is still significantly better.
Especially for walking and in less common places.
In Ghent, Belgium, Apple Maps wanted to let me walk a ~20min detour and follow car streets whereas GMaps correctly allowed me to walk on pedestrian-only roads.
Not usually a supporter of Google, but personally I'd cut them some slack for this. I do hold them responsible for not being able to go a few clicks without some google tech shoving a shitty ad in my face.
Readit News
I have no idea how this is somehow different from the Microsoft IE antitrust case of the 90’s, but I truly hate decisions made by apple (and Microsoft, for that matter) in the name of ‘doing business’.
you can ask for an European citizenship.
Or you can ask your government to protect its citizen from monopolies
And ‘just asking’ for citizenship is a little bit of a stretch, as is relocating to Europe.
that’s one take. i got a different one:
the ship has already sailed almost two decades ago. that’s when these kinds of solutions should have been implemented.
today euro politicians decided to micromanage US tech companies because they don’t have any themselves. they’ll use the fine money to promote truly innovative companies such as France Telecom.
meanwhile in the real world i just got an email from one of my european clients to not use anything other than safari and to not install any 3rd party app stores or apps due to security concerns.
> The key nuance that triggered the government lawsuit was anti-competitive actions such as using obscure/undocumented Windows API functions to cripple Netscape and forcing computer manufacturers to avoid other software when licensing DOS/Windows. All of that is in the long document: https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-v-microsoft-courts-findings-f...
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28256669
> Apple will also add the ability to delete Safari from the iPhone in an update to iOS before the end of the year.
Man, sincerely wish Apple would make these changes available elsewhere. My whole family complains about how they cannot make Google Maps the default on iOS.
If they limit the market they disincentivize google and mozilla from investing in native iOS versions of their browsers
But they will have to, sooner or later. It's not like the EU is going to give up with its initiatives that aim precisely to reduce this kind of post-device-sale control by device manufacturers. Why not just bite the bullet? This kind of arrogant behavior can't be good for Apple's own reputation either. You want people to use your services? Provide better services than your competition then!
Then Uber happened, in particular greyballing.
Then FTX happened.
Then ...
It's not just about pressing a bad product on people, it's about the greed leading the campaign in the first place.
Apple Maps was the correct one.
This is not an experience I’d have expected in 2024 for a large city in a Western country. With Googles apparent embrace of enshitification as a goal instead of a warning, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised anymore.
Not too long ago, I was looking for a shop which, it turned out, was at the next junction of a very short street. Like, I could've seen it but for a signpost and restaurant outdoor furniture blocking my view.
Google Maps recommended I walked to that junction, turned left, walked halfway to the next junction, got on the underground, took the underground to the next stop, got off the underground, and then walked back.
As for navigations it's either Apple Maps or Waze, depending on the country.
Especially for walking and in less common places.
In Ghent, Belgium, Apple Maps wanted to let me walk a ~20min detour and follow car streets whereas GMaps correctly allowed me to walk on pedestrian-only roads.